Few careers offer more opportunities for self-fulfillment than service as a police officer.
Sworn officers play a vital role in maintaining safety and welfare at all levels of government and across the country, but policing is a service career at its core. Policing is as much about helping people and maintaining community quality of life as it is about enforcing laws. Those who are looking for a career filled with the type of daily edge-of-your-seat excitement depicted on television will be disappointed. While the dangers of the job are real, and you will be expertly trained to respond to any situation, the heart of policing lies in daily interactions with citizens.
Today, many police agencies subscribe to the community policing model, which views community engagement, rather than response to specific crimes or incidents, as the core of police work. Many of the issues officers face are community problems in need of a solution often best achieved outside the criminal justice system. By hearing and understanding the causes of community concern, dedicated peace officers find workable, sustainable, and cost-effective resolutions to issues as minor as a noise disturbance or as complex as a mass protest or demonstration. Police officers are the only community servants in continual touch with the communities they serve. This requires officers who are adept at fostering relationships and building connections between people and groups. Today’s officers should come prepared to think and solve problems with a broad community focus.
